Better Angels
by LadyVixenWrites
Summary: au from Better Angels forward, shane x original female character & maggie greene x original female character; BEING REWRITTEN. I JUST WON'T TAKE THIS ONE DOWN YET. THANKS FOR FOLLOWING AND FAVORITING, I HOPE YOU'LL READ BETTER ANGELS REDUX.
1. Better Angels

**NOTES:**

Okay, so guess what girl is more than a little salty about Shane Walsh dying in Better Angels? Yeah, this one, you guessed it. And I got inspired to fix that as well as some other things throughout the following seasons that kind of really bugged the hell out of me. Plus, yeah... I happen to ship myself with Shane because I really connected to and got attached to his character despite the bad things he did by the end of his run on the show.

The scenario I have written out in this chapter is highly illogical. I very seriously doubt he could have survived the stab wound in the Apocalypse and while that's sad, when this idea struck me, I just kind of rolled with it? I know it's highly illogical, trust me. I'm not claiming to be a medical expert either, that's why the how and what was done to help Shane be saved from the wound is intentionally left vague.

So this is my AU. Hoping I can keep it sort of in line with the show and actually keep it going from season 2 -where it picks up- to season 6 -which is now on hiatus-. I really hope you guys can overlook the newbishness. Before now, I primarily wrote drabble series and one shots and the like on Tumblr. This is the first time I've ever uploaded anything I've written to an alternative source so be gentle, please? I only have four chapters of this written, should I keep it going or not? I'm not sure yet.

 **Genre:** Adventure / Romance / Hurt  & Comfort

 **Pairing:** Shane Walsh x OC - primary

 **Warnings:** a fuck ton of swearing, gore and violence, nothing you don't see on the show, right? Oh and yes, eventually, there will be sex. I'll tag the chapter accordingly and bump the rating up to M for those chapters.

 **Summary:**

When Hannah Webber was 21, Shane Walsh inadvertently saved her life the night he and Rick Grimes answered a domestic disturbance call. He got her out of the situation and they had this long and deep conversation that night that sort of changed her entire path in life. She left her abuser and went to nursing school but she never really forgot the impact he made on her or the connection she felt to him that night.

She's 24 when their paths cross again, Shane's the one who needs to be saved this time... He's on the brink of death and a downward spiral. Hannah saves his life and the two face the remainder of the apocalypse together with a few other people. What will happen when Shane crosses paths with Rick and his group again? Will he let Hannah allow him to believe in loving and trusting people again?

* * *

Walls are built to keep us safe

Until they're crashin' down,

Worlds apart, we were the same,

Until you hit the ground.

Angel, Theory Of A Deadman

ONE:

Shane lie there in the woods as the blood from his body slowly seeped onto the grass beneath him. In what he thought were going to be his last moments, he contemplated many things, he suddenly saw with clarity what he'd done wrong and just how badly he'd fucked things up.

He knew the end was coming, or he thought it was at least, nobody survived being stabbed, especially not where he'd been stabbed, not without a fucking stellar doctor or hospital. Those were in short supply in the last days of the world, sadly.

He didn't fucking want to die, not like this. The thought made his eyes sting with tears he'd rather eat his own balls than cry. He squeezed his eyes shut and winced as more pain rolled through his body in waves.

And just as he was about to slip into the void, a voice cut through, soft and crystal clear. His eyes were blurry and he was too weak and too close to death to actually focus on anything other than the pain he felt at present, but he saw… Blonde.

Long and flowing blonde hair.

It tickled his nose when the girl bent over him, swearing under her breath.

"God damn lootin fuckers." she muttered as she looked at him and said quietly, "My name's Hannah. I'm gonna try and help ya, okay? But you gotta be real still for me, big guy. Can you do that? Can you be real still?"

He tried to speak but nothing came. She shook her head and tsked as she said quietly, "Best you don't go talking too much either, big guy. You lost too much fuckin blood. The more you move about all willy nilly and try and use that voice of yours..."

Something about the voice sounded familiar.

He searched the depths of his mind as he tried to recall where he'd heard it before and it hit him like a brick wall when he realized how he knew this blonde woman hell bent on saving a dying man. He'd gotten her out of a really bad situation one night.

It had been a domestic dispute call… His mind conjured her face and her voice and the redness of her eyes, the handprint on her cheek that night and the bruised left eye that she kept trying to hide behind some really long fringe bangs.

He'd noticed her that night and if he'd been a true asshole, he'd have made his move when he drove her out to her momma's house to get away from the son of a bitch who'd beat the living hell out of her. Things clicked into focus and sort of came full circle then and he lie there, he faded in and out of consciousness.

"Hey, whoa… Don't you dare stop breathing on me. Breathe, god damn it." Hannah begged as she held her small hands over the wound, wincing as it gushed. She looked over her shoulder and mumbled quietly, "God damn it, Trina, come on already with my medical kit."

Headlights cut through the night and a Ford F 150 with a battered front grill swerved to a stop a few inches away from where Shane lie. He blinked and Hannah said in a quiet and apologetic tone, "I know, I know.. Shh.. I know the lights are blindin you and I'm sorry. I have to have them to see." before turning her attention to her friend Trina and calling out, "Did you get everything I asked ya to get?"

"I still don't see how the hell this is gonna help but yeah, I got it all. Blood's in the cooler in back. Better hope your boy takes the transfusion well."

"It's a universal type, Trina, that's why we got so damn much of it when we raided that blood bank. Less talkin and more handing me things."

She turned her attention back to Deputy Walsh and she slid off her belt, "Open your mouth, okay? You're gonna want to bite down on this. I'm not real sure how this is gonna go but damn it, I ain't gonna let you die either.. Not without trying something. You're kinda like my knight in shining armor, ya know… That night you came out to the house and hauled Andrew in. The talk we had."

Shane couldn't really say much but he focused his eyes on her. He was getting weaker, but this woman wanting to save his life gave him a little bit more of that fight he'd had before.

He opened his mouth and she slid the belt in.

The first few waves of pain hit him and it was all he could do not to writhe in agony and come up swinging and swearing or worse, pass out from the way the pain weakened him.

He couldn't tell what the two women were doing, but he knew they were giving him blood somehow, probably the same way Hershel had given Carl all that blood and saved his life. People learned all sorts of t ricks to stay alive these days, nothing would surprise him at this point.

Hannah finished stitching up the wound and then she poured the tequila into it to sterilize it. "This fishing line will hold it for now, Trina, but we're gonna have to blast this damn wound shut when he's more stable and he can handle it."

"Hannah, you have to calm down, girl. You've almost dropped the needle eight times. I cannot believe we're doing this. But it shouldn't surprise me, I mean you're the one who bought two stray kittens back to camp."

"This ain't a stray kitten, okay? This man is… Have you ever just felt connected to someone?"

"Yeah.. Every bottle of Jack or Jim or Jose I've ever drank, Hannah, but continue?" Trina asked as she smiled a little and winced at the guy's obvious pain. She felt her stomach churning, she knew Hannah was going to be totally crushed if Shane died right now.

"I can't explain it, okay? But I can't just let him die. Not like this." Hannah was starting the blood transfusions now, grimacing and barely keeping her stomach from churning at the nauseating coppery smell of the blood as it left the blood bag and entered Shane's body. His eyes were unfocused but she noticed they weren't as dead as they'd looked a few minutes prior when the whole thing took place and she'd seen him fall to the ground.

There was life left in him, damn it.

"He's sexy, Hannah, but… neither one of us are certified doctors or nurses. Just don't get your hopes too high."

"Shut the fuck up, Trina and help me." Hannah snapped as Trina gave her normally timid friend a raised brow because of her harsh tone but she kneeled down and worked on helping Hannah get the sealed off and sterilized wound closed again and bandaged as best as they could do for the moment.

"I do have one question?"

"What?"

"How the hell are we moving him? He's heavier than both of us… No offense, guy." Trina asked her friend as she finished wrapping even more gauze around the wounded area, they'd spanned almost an entire three rolls over his chest.

The blood flow was stopped and he was still breathing, it was shallow but there was hope…


	2. Waking Up In A Strange Place

**NOTES:**

Okay, so I'm going to post all the other chapters I have written for this on here too. Hopefully someone will like it and read it. I just wanted to share the story, I personally feel my writing is shit, so I'm sorry ahead of time. Also, Shane's not as popular as say, Daryl (which baffles me because I really love Shane's character and I hate how everyone was so damn quick to turn on him and now look at Rick, would ya?) anyway, here's to hoping, right?

Also, since Shane is alive in this AU, things might happen to him and to Hannah and her friend (OC) Trina, before they happen to Rick and his group, be warned.

Warnings: a fuck ton of swearing. Literally a fuck ton.

* * *

Walls are built to keep us safe

Until they're crashin' down,

Worlds apart, we were the same,

Until you hit the ground.

Angel, Theory Of A Deadman

TWO:

The sound of music was what brought Shane out of nearly a week of ins and outs, more outs than ins. He heard a Doors song and a soft and very feminine voice humming along to it. The smell of vanilla filled his nostrils and he felt something tickling his cheek which made him open his eyes.

"Where 'm I at?" he asked in a gruff voice as he looked up and saw the ethereal looking petite blonde standing over him, changing out an IV bag. She jumped a little when he spoke and turned to look over one shoulder at him before answering, "My momma's place."

"How long 'ave I been out?" he asked next. Hannah turned to face him when she'd finished changing out the IV bag and she answered quietly, "You've been in and out for a week now. Almost died on me about two times the night I was trying to patch you up."

He grimaced. Everything fucking hurt. Whoever said that being stabbed was not as painful as being shot was clearly an idiot and had never actually been either thing. Shane had been both, he'd gotten grazed by a bullet in his line of work and of course, he'd been stabbed by Rick.

He watched the blonde as she turned away and moved around the room, straightening it up a little. His eyes darted around the room and he noticed a vase full of wild flowers, dried, a pale purple ribbon around them.

His eyes went back to her; they lingered on her. He wondered why she'd chosen to save him that night and before he could stop himself, he asked the question. His tone was solemn and gruff. "Why'd ya save me?"

Hannah bit her lower lip nervously and shuffled her feet. There were a thousand reasons she'd actually saved him that night, however, she couldn't justify just blurting out any of them currently, so she went with the safest one, the old standby, "Because it's what you woulda done if the situation was reversed, right?"

Shane rubbed his hand over his scalp as he looked at her. The words she said, her soft and gentle tone as she said them, the look in her eyes made him stop and really think. They battled with the harsher words from others as of late.

The darkness had been winning then.

It really made him sort of question things… Would he have done everything he could to save her life? He thought it over for a few long minutes.

Yeah, he would have.

He didn't comment, instead, he nodded to the flowers and asked, "Where'dya find them?"

"In a field nearby. The room's kinda drab, I thought maybe a few flowers when you woke up." Hannah trailed off, she fell silent again as she chided herself internally, ' _Do not make this awkward, Hannah._ '

He managed a wary and tentative smile. He hadn't done that in a while, it felt good to do it again.

"Your clothes are mostly clean. Shirt is a lost cause though… Between the tear in the fabric and the blood all over it, it's as good as done for. I think I can find ya one of my daddy's old shirts though." Hannah managed to mumble after she reluctantly tore her eyes off of his. "I'm gonna go find that for ya." she started to walk out of the room. Shane reached out and grabbed her wrist quickly, probably a little more roughly than he'd intended because she gave the slightest of flinches.

But she recovered quickly and asked him with a curious look, "What's wrong?"

"Ya don't hafta do that."

"You're gonna need a shirt. Starting to get a lot colder out and you've got a chest wound. You don't keep it covered then infection will set in easier. Can't have you dying on me." Hannah managed to say as she shuffled her feet.

"I know, but I kin get it."

"You don't need to be up and moving around right now. You almost died twice." Hannah cautioned him, her hand went to his abdomen and she gently pushed him back into a sitting position on the bed he'd been standing in front of.

Then she turned and walked out of the room, she shut the door partially behind her and leaned against the wall. She had to catch her breath because the tension and everything in there with him just now was so much that she _couldn't breathe_.

Shane sat there trying to figure out what he should do. He was alive and away from the toxicity of the situation that was the group he'd been wanting to leave for a while now… But he didn't know if he should stay where he was or get moving, go somewhere far away from pretty much everyone because he just didn't know _who to trust_ anymore.

Yeah, she'd saved his life but could he really be sure he could trust her not to fuck him over in the long run?

Something kind of told him he could but he wasn't so sure he could trust his gut at the moment. He'd made a lot of mistakes lately because he went with his gut. What if it was wrong this time too?

The door opened again and Hannah came into the room, an arm full of clothes. "It ain't much but… Better than walkin around naked, right?"

She immediately gave herself a swift mental kick and felt her cheeks flaming hot. Did she really have to be that awkward? No wonder only the worst men were drawn to her while the good ones like Deputy Walsh all had significant others and wives and lovers much less simple minded and niave than her. ' _Way to go there, Hannah. Way to make things awkward yet again. Your daddy always said you were a dumb girl and there you go, provin him right._ ' she chided herself as she shook her head.

"You alright?"

"I'm fine, I was just… Just thinking."

Shane eyed her; something told him she hadn't simply just been thinking, not with the pain that sort of showed in her eyes just then.

He didn't ask her about it though, because it _wasn't_ any of his business. Though he was surprised by the surge of anger he felt at someone or something possibly hurting her. He'd felt it the night he hauled her pathetic excuse of a husband in to the county lockup for the number Andrew did on her face too.

He'd just ignored it then because only a true asshole made a move on someone when they were hurting and confused and as broken down as she'd been then - _and as he was now_ his mind reminded him almost immediately- and he'd been a different guy then… Had the whole thing happened now, lately?

He probably would have made some kind of move.

Hannah broke the silence with a cough. The tension was back, it was sucking all the air out of the room. Her skin tingled like she had low voltage electricity running through it and it was hard to ignore the temptation and the pull she felt.

It had been when she'd first met him that night and it was even harder now.

She knew she had to though, she just sensed that he wasn't quite the same guy he had been back then. That he needed to find his way back.

Maybe she could help him.

"I need to look at your bandages."

Shane nodded solemnly and he went to undo them for her, but she shook her head and sat on the very edge of his lap on the bed, she carefully pulled up the gauze and bandaging and smiled a little. "it ain't the prettiest stitching job I ever did but it's still holding. Still say I should have blasted it shut with gunpowder though."

He shook his head and winced. The method just sounded painful.

She went to move her hands, to lower them and grab more bandaging and gauze from beside him where she'd sat it when she came back in with the clothes, he grabbed her hand carefully in his and then said quietly, "Thanks… Ya didn have to do this."

"Don't, umm.. Don't mention it." Hannah responded as her cheeks burned hot again and she licked her lips nervously. "I'm gonna go down and see if Trina made it back." she mumbled quickly as she slid off his lap and walked out of the room.

If she hadn't left the room when she had, everything would have spilled out. Things would have gotten horribly awkward in the process.

She wanted to make sure he healed. If he left before he was fully healed, he'd never make it out there. It was a risk she was _not willing to take_.


	3. Salty Old Men and Little Moments

**NOTES:**

 **SPECIAL GUEST WILL BE JOINING THE CAST! I REPEAT THIS IS NOT A DRILL! A SPECIAL GUEST WILL BE JOINING THE CAST!**

Okay, so I'm going to post all the other chapters I have written for this on here too. Hopefully someone will like it and read it. I just wanted to share the story, I personally feel my writing is shit, so I'm sorry ahead of time. Also, Shane's not as popular as say, Daryl (which baffles me because I really love Shane's character and I hate how everyone was so damn quick to turn on him and now look at Rick, would ya?) anyway, here's to hoping, right?

Also, since Shane is alive in this AU, things might happen to him and to Hannah and her friend (OC) Trina, before they happen to Rick and his group, be warned.

Warnings: a fuck ton of swearing. Literally a fuck ton.

* * *

Walls are built to keep us safe

Until they're crashin' down,

Worlds apart, we were the same,

Until you hit the ground.

Angel, Theory Of A Deadman

THREE:

"Will you get back in bed? You can't keep getting up and moving around right now. You're not well enough yet and the more you're up and about, the longer it's going to take you to get well enough, Shane." Hannah stated firmly, looking up at Shane with a concerned look that wasn't missed by him. He eyed her warily. Why did she care so damn much?

Nobody else seemed to.

Or they hadn't unless he could do something for them.

So why was she so worried about him?

Trina called up the stairs in a frantic voice and Hannah swore softly and yelled out, "Coming! Get whoever it is into the dining room, on that gurney." as she fixed her hair into a better version of her current messy fishtail braid.

"Where 're ya goin?"

"I gotta try to help whoever this is that Trina found while she was on a supply run, okay?"

"This what you do, you bring people back here 'n doctor 'em?" Shane asked with a curious look in his eyes. Did she not realize what a huge risk she was taking when she did that? Any of them could kill her and her friend and steal everything they had in their little set up here.

He found himself worried, oddly enough.

"Can you come on before we don't have to worry about knockin this big fuckin lug out with a tranq?" Trina called up the stairs, adding in a teasing tone, "In other words, stop makin out with your sweetheart, Dr. Webber."

Hannah's entire face turned red and she coughed a little under Shane's raised brow gaze. "I better get a move on. Trina has a notoriously short fuse. As in if I don't go down now, she will probably choke whoever this person is out."

"I kinda got that sense about 'er." Shane chuckled a little. She'd just blushed, it was cute, it made her eyes sort of take on this whiskey colored glow. She hesitated in the doorway but when Trina swore and called her name again she grumbled a few swears under her breath and grabbed the first aid kit and started down the stairs.

She found Trina sitting on the one handed man and attempting to stuff a sock into his mouth, the man was just spitting it out and making really lewd comments. Trina might pretend she wasn't enjoying it, but she was, Hannah could tell by the smile on her face as she antagonized the older one handed man right back.

"Can ya tell this fuckin idjit that he's gotta be quiet and still?"

Hannah eyed the blood trail on the hardwood floor and the badly infected stump on the man's hand.

"Hell, darlin, you ought thank me. I saved yer ass, sugar tits."

"I had control of the situation, thank you much, you salty ass old man. Did you not see me throw that guy down by his dick or…." Trina asked and Hannah wondered aloud with a shake of her head, "I don't wanna know what happened.. Do I?"

"It's a funny story, I'll tell you when we have our usual round or three of tequila after the patients are all bedded down." Trina gave Hannah her trademark mischevious smirk and Hannah approached the man as she nodded to his hand. "How'd you lose it?"

"I wasn't bit. I swear I wasn't bit, sugar tits."

"I didn't ask if you were bit, sir, if you were, Trina here would have finished you off instead of bringing you back here. I asked what happened to your hand."

"Wha'sit matter?"

"It matters because I need to know how long you've been walking around without one god damn hand, sir. Because if infection is set in and it looks like it has, then I need to know what to use to treat you."

"You some kinda doctor lady, sugar tits?"

"Her name's Hannah, asshole." Trina spoke up in a clenched tone. Hannah gave Trina a look and Trina went quiet for a moment. She turned her attention back to the man and then waited. While she waited on him to answer her question, she asked another. "What's your name?"

"Its Merle… Merle Dixon. Whats yer name?"

"She just told you it was Hannah, sir. I'm gonna ask you a third time… How did you lose a hand."

"Some assholes in my old group handcuffed me to a roof while we were out on a supply haul. Because some shithead with a badge thought it was the 'best thing to do'. Then another idiot lost the key, so he said. I kind of think it was on purpose."

Trina snickered and then asked, "So you what… Sawed off your own hand? That's wow… Took one hell of a set of cahones."

"Didn't feel the greatest if'n that's what yer askin." Merle mumbled in a dry tone as he nodded to his bleeding stump. "Stitches musta ripped out when I was savin little red's ass. But it's been gone for about a month now, give 'er take."

Hannah nodded though the sight and the smell of the stump made her gag a little. "We'll see what we can do. I'm not a magician, okay? Or a miracle worker."

"Says the woman who saved a guy from dyin from a stab wound." Trina joked as she gathered up the necessary things that Hannah hadn't carried down the stairs with her. "Have you been sick at all, sir ?"

"A little, yeah. Reckon the rot on my hand is what kept them Walkers at bay though. And me skinnin 'em and wearin' em."

Hannah could have thrown up but she fought the urge and instead, she focused on cleaning out the stump as best as she could and then sewing it shut again. She started the man on some antibotics she'd grabbed during their last hospital and clinic raid and she went into the kitchen to make him some soup to eat, only to find Trina already in there making soup and apparently, grilled cheese.

"You're hot for him..."

"I am not… Guy's had one hell of a struggle, Hannah.. Besides, you got ta keep one. Can't I?"

"I'm not… Oh my god, Trina, I'm not even going to dignify that with an answer. I'm just helping him get well again, okay? Because that man up there, he don't realize it but he saved my life. He kept me from going back to a bad situation. His words and the way he treated me that night, the way he was honest with me… They're the only reason I didn't just give up and go back to Andrew."

"And there's that connection you're always talking about, remember?" Trina mused aloud.

Hannah froze when she heard Shane clear his throat from the doorway. She felt the color rushing to her cheeks and then fading away again quickly. "He heard all of that, didn't he?"

"Mhmm… So I'm gonna go feed this asshole, it's the least I can do because I'd have been Walker food if he hadn't saved my ass today… You two talk? Or fuck.. If you fuck, close the door, yeah?"

Hannah gave her friend the finger and Shane asked casually, "Any more of that soup?"

"There's a little left. I can make you a grilled cheese… What the hell are you doing up anyway?" Hannah asked quietly as she tried to divert her eyes from his but failed miserably. He chuckled and then asked quietly, " I make you that nervous, Hannah?"

"Not really, no, I just… I'm awkward, okay?"

He eyed her a little, the conversation he overheard between Hannah and her friend just then replaying for him in his mind… Maybe if he did stay here…

"Did ya help that person?"

"Yeah… I think he'll be okay… I mean you can't fix an attitude like his but at least he won't die anytime soon."

Shane gave a nod. It was really all he could do at the moment. Hannah ladled some soup into a bowl and held it out to him. "I made it myself. Got a garden out back. It ain't the best but it's grub."

"Smells good. I smelled it all the way upstairs." Shane caught and held her gaze for a few seconds. He wasn't sure why but he leaned in and slid his hand over the strands hanging in her eyes, tucking them behind her ear. "You ate anythin yet?"

"I'm about to. If I can hold it down… Turns out I have a weak stomach sometimes. Was all I could do to keep from throwing up when I saw that guy's infected hand."

"He wasn't bit?"

"No, dumb shit was handcuffed to a roof during a supply run. Then his group left him. People amaze me. He managed to get himself out of the cuffs and sew up his hand but it's infected pretty damn bad. Said he's been sick on occasion. I don't see how he ain't dead, honestly." Hannah mused thoughtfully as she took a few bites of her soup.

Shane raised a brow.. Something about what Hannah said seemed familiar. Really familiar.

And when he saw Merle Dixon sitting in the living room of the cabin with Hannah's friend feeding him soup for whatever reason, he groaned inwardly.

"Guy's a jerk."

"Yeah, trust me, I know. But he needed help so I helped 'im." Hannah answered. Their eyes locked on each other and Shane found himself migrating a little closer. Hannah blushed again, it made him smirk a little.

"You got a little soup.." he pointed out, he was about to reach for the spot, he itched to touch her, he noticed it all of a sudden, but Hannah wiped it away with a baby blue linen napkin. "Thanks. I'm a messy eater, I swear."

He shrugged it off and the two sat down at the table, they ate their food mostly in silence.


	4. Tension

**NOTES:**

 **Okay, so obviously, you know who the special person was by now. Merle is not going to be Trina's love interest, their thing is more or less platonic. I haven't decided who will yet, but at some point she will be paired with a guy on the cast. I don't care for Rick so he's out automatically. It'll be either Daryl or Glenn most likely, though I ship the hell out of Glenn x Maggie.**

Okay, so I'm going to post all the other chapters I have written for this on here too. Hopefully someone will like it and read it. I just wanted to share the story, I personally feel my writing is shit, so I'm sorry ahead of time. Also, Shane's not as popular as say, Daryl (which baffles me because I really love Shane's character and I hate how everyone was so damn quick to turn on him and now look at Rick, would ya?) anyway, here's to hoping, right?

Also, since Shane is alive in this AU, things might happen to him and to Hannah and her friend (OC) Trina, before they happen to Rick and his group, be warned.

Warnings: a fuck ton of swearing. Literally a fuck ton.

* * *

Walls are built to keep us safe

Until they're crashin' down,

Worlds apart, we were the same,

Until you hit the ground.

Angel, Theory Of A Deadman

FOUR:

She'd tired herself out earlier but the last thing she expected was to fall asleep on the couch, a huge medical encyclopedia open and spread out on the couch with a highlighter marking the section she was reading.

Regardless, that's how Shane found her when he walked down the stairs to use the bathroom. He stood there a few minutes just looking at her and then he looked at the book left open while she slept nearby. She was reading up on amputations and how to handle an infection in the wound resulting. She'd also made some notes on a piece of notebook paper about his own wounds, he read over those, curious.

"Workin too hard." he mumbled quietly as he added more kindling to the dying fire in the fireplace and then found a blanket at the end of the couch, covering her up with it. He looked around the room at the family photos out on shelves, he noticed that she only had the ones with her and an older look alike in them, she was younger in all the photos and a few of them she was actually smiling in.

The door opened to the cabin and Trina stepped in, she was about to call her friend's name but Shane held a finger to his lips and hissed quietly, "She took a nap, I think."

"Yeah, she's been burning it at both ends… Between you and that salty old asshole I know as Merle..." Trina eyed the man warily and then asked, "Did ya know her before? Because she's kinda like a sister to me man and if you're only gonna get better and leave..."

"Dunno what I'm liable to do yet." Shane said quickly, giving a defensive wave of his hands as he spoke. He was not making any promises at all because he didn't want to get back into another potentially bad situation.

Though he had been thinking a lot about staying around, he wasn't sure if he trusted a no good bum like Merle Dixon to keep the two women safe and he definitely didn't want Hannah getting into any danger, he especially didn't want her getting bit and having to encounter her reanimated form later down the line.

He told himself it was because she'd saved his life. Deep down he wasn't entirely sure if that was the only reason or not anymore because the longer he stuck around, the more he got to know her and the more he got to know Hannah…. The harder it was not to sort of just find himself falling again, like he did with Lori.

 _'It ain't the same, man and you know it. Lori was just somethin ya wanted but couldn't and shouldn't have had. Hannah and the way ya feel now.. It's totally different.'_ his mind argued.

He shut it down by mumbling something and leaving the room.

Trina, however, was not going to be deterred. While she put on rubber gloves and prepped to clean out Merle's infected hand stump, she broached the conversation again. "She kinda loves you. I mean that's what I think. I ain't known her long but hell.. I know her well enough to know that she normally don't just throw herself into a potentially dangerous situation like the one you were in that night unless she really cares."

"Yeah, I kinda thought that too." Shane muttered as he asked Trina, "What's the deal with you and Dixon?"

"He gets me. He don't push for more than I want or have to give. He ain't a bad guy, I guess… But I do not love him."

Shane shook his head and chuckled. Trina gave him a dirty look and turned, walking out of the room, stopping in the doorway to say pointedly, "You ain't a bad guy either. People might have told ya that ya were but people are fuckin idiots. If ya were a bad guy, Hannah wouldn't a helped ya."

When Trina left the room, Shane sat down at the table and thought about what Hannah's friend just told him. The things he'd heard Hannah admit herself and what Trina told him willingly just now about how Hannah felt were battling against everything anyone else had said lately and things he'd started to think and feel about himself on his own.

"Yeah, well, I could be wrong again." he thought to himself as he sat there thinking, over thinking everything as usual. If he kept it up he knew he'd spring himself right into another anxiety fuelled anger fit.

He took a few deep breaths and then shook his head. He'd have to think about all this, try and figure out what he should do and how he should react, if it was okay to make a move or if he were better off keeping it to himself.

He walked back into the living room and slid the fallen blanket back over Hannah and for a second, he thought about waking her up.

He'd gotten to the third step on the stairwell and Hannah called out sleepily, "Shane? You feeling okay?"

"I'm good."

"Crap. I took a nap." Hannah started, raising to a sitting position, stretching as she slid off the couch and stood up.

"Maybe ya needed one." Shane offered as he eyed her intently. Again, he felt himself migrating straight towards her, there was almost this magnetic force between the two of them and it was getting harder and harder not to notice it or to pretend he didn't in case she didn't.

"You're the one who needs rest, Shane Walsh." Hannah admitted quietly. She looked up at him, head tilted slightly, bangs falling into her eyes. Shane reached out and smoothed the stray hair behind her ears. "I'm fine, hon… Hannah, I meant."

At him calling her that she felt her body heating up all over, she felt this warmth flood her. Her hand raised and closed over his larger hand, she brushed her thumbs across his knuckles. "Let's have a look at those bandages then, shall we? Don't even think about pouting."

He still tried to pout but Hannah firmly shook her head and nodded to the chair at the dining table. He let her guide him back to the chair and he sat down. She sat on the edge of his lap again and he pulled the t shirt up and over his head carefully.

There was this quiet sort of intimacy in the whole thing, Shane might pretend he hated being babied, or actually having a woman fuss over him for the first time in a long time, but… He mostly did that because he didn't have the guts to admit he enjoyed this particular part of each day and that he was sort of dreading the day he was actually healed enough to not have to wear a bandage over his stab wound.

He caught her gaze and she licked those lips of hers.

The tension was building, sooner or later someone had to give in and at least try to make a move, right?


	5. The Art Of War

**NOTES:**

 **Okay, so obviously, you know who the special person was by now. Merle is not going to be Trina's love interest, their thing is more or less platonic. I haven't decided who will yet, but at some point she will be paired with a guy on the cast. I don't care for Rick so he's out automatically. It'll be either Daryl or Glenn most likely, though I ship the hell out of Glenn x Maggie.**

Also, since Shane is alive in this AU, things might happen to him and to Hannah and her friend (OC) Trina, before they happen to Rick and his group, be warned. This chapter is one of those things, but... WHO is the person they're encountering? I'm not telling. -singsong voice-

Warnings: **a fuck ton of swearing. Literally a fuck ton. The swearing is OFF THE CHARTS in this chapter because big things happen.**

 **This was something I was worried about writing because primarily my thing is romance and** not action **, but... It makes sense that Shane's new group would cross paths with this person before Rick and his group, so yeah... Question is, which villian from TWD IS the one who makes an appearance in this chapter?**

* * *

Walls are built to keep us safe

Until they're crashin' down,

Worlds apart, we were the same,

Until you hit the ground.

Angel, Theory Of A Deadman

FIVE:

A loud crash woke them all up. Hannah shot up in bed and felt around for her glasses since she probably wouldn't have time to put in her contacts and as soon as she'd slid them onto her face, she slid out of bed, not even stopping to think about the formality of pants.

Trina was already out in the hallway. She ran down to Merle's room just as he was stepping out the door. "Got a spare gun, lil red?"

"In my nightstand, salty old man." Trina whispered. She took a few deep breaths and peeked tentatively out the window she stood closest to, standing off to the side so that she couldn't be seen. "Who the fucking hell are they? What the fuck? Oh hell no, they ain't comin up in here and stealing our shit." Trina's temper kicked in fast and heavy.

Shane slid on his sweats and swore out loud when he almost put both legs into one leg of them. Hurrying, he ran out into the hallway and Trina hissed, "There's assholes down there. They crashed right through the fuckin front gate."

"Weapons?"

"Yeah, down in a gun cabinet. Merle and me will go down and get 'em! You go wake up Hannah, I swear to Christ that girl is the only girl I know who could sleep through a fucking apocaly-" her words died on her lips as Hannah shined a flashlight and hissed into the semi darkness, "I've been awake, thank you much. Did y'all not hear that shot just now?"

Shane raised a brow and Hannah defended her actions by saying, "There's one or two things of mine nobody's getting hands on.. One of 'em is this cabin and the other is my fuckin Mustang."

Shane nodded and then asked, "Well? We gonna do somethin or wait on these assholes outside to come right on in? We ain't really got tha time ta be standin around here talkin and shit. If we're gon do somethin, needs ta happen now."

"Oh it's happening. Bastards don't have what we have."

"What's that?"

"A pissed off bitch who just got fucking woke up at 1 am who happens to have a penchant for settin shit on fire, that's what." Trina fumed. Merle grumbled as he took off down the stairs after her, hissing the whole way down, "Hot damn it, lil red, cool yer tits. Ya cain't just go a bargin out there. Gotta have a plan. Let the damn men handle this!"

"While y'all handle this, I'm gonna go find some spare gasoline and some tequila. When these fuckers are done roastin, I'll call y'all." Trina grumbled as she swore and tore the kitchen and pantry apart looking for the extra tequila they kept on reserve in case they encountered a situation like this one and had few or no weapons on their person.

Shane caught up to Merle and the two of them reluctantly started to come up with some sort of a half assed plan, to his surprise, they both agreed that there were more of the people outside than there were of them.

"Main thing, Dixon, is getting the women outta here safe."

"Yeah.. Thing is, Walsh, ain't either of us up fer the challenge of shootin it out with the sumbitches. So that's where we need ta find some kinda distraction, reckon?"

"Distraction could work… Hannah's car is parked close enough to the cabin..."

"Nah.. Lil red's truck's closer. Gonna need the room too." Merle suggested. Shane eyed him and then asked, "Which one's got more gas, I wonder?"

"Whichever has more in it, Walsh, is that the one we gon use?"

"Best bet. Because I ain't got a good feelin right now, Dixon. Those bastards came straight through the fuckin gate. They wanted us ta know they were comin in on us. Either they're real cocky or real fuckin stupid. I'm not willin to bet they're stupid… So we gotta assume they got more guns and men than we got. I think I got an idea..." Shane paced a little as Merle smirked and they looked at each other.

"I can tell you got one too, g'head."

"No, Walsh, you did right by the group when I was there. Ain't gon go tellin ya my plan and getting us killed."

Shane explained his idea which was basically fight them off with gunfire as long as they could while one of them went to the closest vehicle and got in it, driving it around back so they could all get in and get away quickly on a backroad leading away from the cabin through the woods if they had to.

"That's what I was gon suggest."

"So give me yer knife and the keys to both vehicles, Dixon and I'll go out and distract 'em."

"Shane..."

His head snapped to the doorway where Hannah stood, looking at him in fear and concern. The kind of fear and concern that wasn't just faked for the benefit of preserving her own ass… The kind that indicated clearly that someone had feelings.

He felt his heart race a little… It had to be adrenaline.

"Hon, don't… Dixon ain't gon make it as fast as me. I'm a hell of a lot younger and I'm 'n better shape." Shane insisted. He didn't even realize that in his adrenaline fuelled moment that he'd done it again, he'd slipped up for about the seventh or eighth time in this very crazy couple of weeks and he'd called her hon instead of Hannah.

"I can run, damn it. I'm older, done more livin already."

Trina skidded back into the room armed to the teeth almost. She dumped the laundry basket and pack she'd been carrying on her shoulers and then nodded to the pile. "That's every knife, gun and riggable explosive or firestartin thing we got here, boys. Do with it what you will."

Eyes turned from the pile to Hannah and Trina, both of whom shrugged. "We were out here alone, boys, what the hell did ya think we were gonna do? Flash titties and ass and bat our lashes to get outta jams? Nope." Hannah shocked Shane a little when she candidly blurted it out.

"Dixon, I'm goin. It's final. No negotiations… Matter of fact, pass me that Glock." Shane nodded to Hannah's father's old handgun.

"Shane..."

"Hon, we ain't got time. Those bastards are getting closer by the minute." Shane insisted, looking at her, giving her a firm look. Trina nudged Merle and leaned in as she whispered quietly, "We oughta git… We can cover his ass from the window. Let's let 'em have a moment, salty old man."

"Right behind ya, lil red."

"We're gon cover you from the window, Walsh. I got that rifle of lil reds. It's got a dang good scope." Merle said as the two exited the kitchen leaving Shane and Hannah alone.

"You have to do this. There's no other way?"

"There ain't another way, hon. If we keep fussin about it, we're gon get our asses handed to us." Shane said it quietly. His eyes locked on hers. She leaned in a little closer and mumbled something that sounded to him, "Why the hell do I have to go and fall for the fuckin hero?"

The words really made his heart start to pound like crazy and the adrenaline rush from seconds before increased a thousand times. "What was that?"

"You heard me, Shane." Hannah muttered as she shuffled her feet nervously. On the one hand, it felt like a huge weight was lifted, on the other hand, she was terrified now that it was out he held all the power to crush her all over again like she'd been crushed thousands of times before.

But if she let him go out that door without the words coming out, if she did lose him again… She just somehow sort of knew that she wouldn't ever really get past it or feel okay about it. She'd always regret not telling him how much he meant to her, how much he'd turned her life around and how she was falling more in love with him with each day that passed.

He'd gotten the gun tucked into his jeans waistband and was in the process of grabbing a machete just in case and another and older handgun, when she tapped his shoulder.

"I can't let you go out there."

"Yer gon have to, Hannah. There ain't no other way, hon. Damn it, I'm gon be okay.. I lived through a stab wound, I lived through more close calls than anybody I know."

"I know, damn it. It just… There's something I have to do first, okay?" Hanna was rambling nervously now, pacing and biting her lip, Shane couldn't help but notice it. He stopped her by putting his hands on her arms to bring her to a stand still.

She completely pressed herself against him and mumbled against his lips quietly, "This is not how I wanted this to come out… This ain't how I've been dreaming our first kiss would be, okay? So you have to come back. You have to let me say everything and you have to let me do this right."

He could feel her shaking. _Did he really make her that nervous_ , he wondered to himself as he eyed her. She stood on his feet to make up the remaining height difference between them and when her hand drifted to the back of his neck and she pulled his lips against hers, he groaned a little and picked her up, holding her so that she didn't fall off the tabletop. His tongue met her tongue halfway and the sparks between them ignited finally. She tasted like the soup they'd all eaten earlier and the one or two shots of tequila she'd taken with Trina. He deepened the kiss and tried his best to make each second count.

" 'S not how I pictured it happenin either, hon. Not even close." Shane mumbled against her lips as he broke the kiss and looked right into her eyes and said calmly, "I'm gon go now. And I'm comin back. And we're all gon get outta here without a scratch. We'll revisit that kiss later."

"Go kick their asses." Hannah managed to say as he walked out the door. She grabbed a few empty glass beer bottles and some rags and pieces of fabric and the tequila and a lighter and made her way into the living room, crouching beside Trina.

"Bout damn time ya let it out, girl."

"Less talkin and more shootin… Or you can make these and I'll shoot. Merle, you need ammo?"

"Gettin a little low here, sugar tits…. Hannah, I meant Hannah." Merle smirked as he took the box of ammo she slid to him and reloaded his gun.

The first shot signifying the official arrival of the armed men down in the yard pierced through the window and Trina raised up quickly, punching out the rest of the glass. Merle yanked at her and glared as he hissed, "Are you fuckin nuts, woman?"

"Not really, no.. Just figured you don't need to be missin a hand and your damn eyes, salty old man."

"Don't do that again, woman, damn."

Merle slid the barrel of the gun out the window and squeezed the trigger. "I hit anything?"

Hannah peered through the scope of her own hunting rifle and shook her head. "Go over to the left… The trees near the truck and car."

"Oh fuck… Merle? You gotta shoot now… We got three comin right for us."

Outside, Shane swore when he heard the glass shattering in the big bay window in the living room of the cabin. He was running blind, and what seemed like the best idea he'd ever had suddenly seemed like one of those moments were he was wondering what the hell he'd been thinking prior to actually doing the thing he'd planned out.

In his head he made it out that door and to that truck a thousand times by now. In his head though, there weren't bullets to be dodged every five fucking minutes. In his head there wasn't the prospect of the damn noise drawing every Walker in the vicinity straight to them like ringing a dinner bell. In his head, this shit went so much smoother.

He swore as a bullet buzzed his ear and he raised up the Glock and fired it off quickly and efficiently. One head shot, one kill. The man who'd shot at him dropped to the ground.

"Thank Christ I made above average in my gun trainin. Otherwise I'd be fucked right about now." Shane mused to himself as he saw a man about to run in his direction. He shot again, missed by a centimeter though the shot still connected with the other man's knee.

From inside the house he heard one of the girls scream "Eat this you fuckin fucks!" and he watched as something lit on fire flew through the air and landed on the ground in front of one of the men. The fire traveled up the man's cargo pants and Shane saw his chance.

The truck was literally right in front of him.

Without thinking he dove for it and rolled underneath it partially. A man shouted something and he swore because seconds later, bullets were peppering the ground around him. "God damn it, really?"

He counted the shots and tried to mentally account for the type of guns they might be using just based on the ones he'd seen on them when he ran out. When he knew the other guy was about to be empty, he jumped into the truck, slammed it into drive and slammed it right over one of the men. It nearly took out one guy who just stood there with a gun raised, watching him, this empty look in hollow eyes.

Shane wasn't sure why but he filed the man's face away for future references… There was just this strange sort of feeling he got, like maybe they hadn't seen the last of them. He slammed the truck into park around the same time that Hannah and Trina and Merle all came running out, as much as they could grab in a matter of literal seconds on their bodies and in their arms.

Hannah got into the passenger seat and Trina and Merle got into the back.

"You said there was a back road outta here, right?"

"Yeah. It's straight ahead." Hannah answered breathlessly as she sat there t rying to get her head around what had just happened. She felt his large rough hand reach for her hand and his fingers lace through her fingers and he said quietly, "We all got outta there. That's what matters."

"Yeah.. But who the hell were they?"

"I'm wonderin the same myself… If'fn they found my baby brother's group, it ain't lookin too good on me seein Daryl alive again."

" They're out there somewhere, Dixon. I may not care much for the way Rick and me ended thangs but if I know one thing it's that if he's with yer brother then yer brother's probably hidin it out somewhere too. Hell, they're probably all still at Hershel Greene's farm."

"Let's hope so." Merle mumbled to himself.

"Either way, we need to get the hell away from here. Anywhere close by we can restock?"

"Yeah, there's a grocery store and a pawn shop and sporting goods store right when you come off the backroad. Maybe they haven't gotten hit too hard yet." Hannah muttered.

Shane stole a glance at her and she leaned in and brushed her lips to his cheek as she whispered into his ear, "Can you not make it your personal mission to scare the living hell out of me from here forward, Shane?"

"Can't promise you that, Hannah. Gotta do whatever I gotta do to keep ya safe."

"Excluding killing yourself, idiot."

He managed a smile which after the events that had just unfolded felt bizarre, but at the same time, it felt good to smile again. He hadn't in a few months now.

He made up his mind silently right there that no matter what, he was going to stay. He wanted whatever was happening between them to happen. Maybe this time it would be the real thing.

"So… Do we have an actual plan or..."

"Gon go by the farmhouse. Least I can do is let Merle see if his brother is still there. It's best they don't see me."

Merle gave a nod and then said with a laugh, "One hell of a wake up, huh?"

"I hope it never happens again."

"They're all dead if it ever happens again, I swear to God. I was having the most amazing sex dream and those assholes ruined it." Trina blurted out, shocked tone to her voice. "And I cut my damn hand open punchin out the window."

"I told ya woman, stay the hell down."

Shane and Hannah shared a look and Shane winked at her and shook his head.


	6. Timing

**NOTES:**

Okay, so obviously, you know who the special person was by now. Merle is not going to be Trina's love interest, their thing is more or less platonic. I haven't decided who will yet, but at some point she will be paired with a guy on the cast. I don't care for Rick so he's out automatically. It'll be either Daryl or Glenn most likely, though I ship the hell out of Glenn x Maggie **.**

By this point, Shane has done the nice thing (it was a moment, okay?) and taken Merle to the farmhouse where Daryl last was. They've found the farmhouse burned down, so it's assumed that Rick and his group are in transit or already at the prison. I'm not sure which yet, because I don't want the two groups to meet quite yet... -evil laughter-

Warnings: **a fuck ton of swearing. Literally a fuck ton. The swearing is OFF THE CHARTS in this chapter because big things happen.**

 **This was something I was worried about writing because primarily my thing is romance and** not action **, but... It makes sense that Shane's new group would cross paths with this person before Rick and his group, so yeah... Question is, which villian from TWD IS the one who makes an appearance in this chapter?**

 **Oh yeah... Mild innuendo in this chapter, very mild. Lots of making out. Lots. The sex isn't here yet. It'll get here eventually.**

Other notes **: I have a favorite and two follows! I'm so thrilled rig ht now, I honestly did not think anyone was going to read this and I was worried that it was crappy, I'm real critical of myself. Hope you guys are enjoying it so far.**

* * *

Walls are built to keep us safe

Until they're crashin' down,

Worlds apart, we were the same,

Until you hit the ground.

Angel, Theory Of A Deadman

SIX:

They hadn't stopped driving since the cabin got over run. That had to have been at least three days ago. The lights on the hotel marquee sign were out and the V in the word vacancy was hanging off and in danger of falling off the sign when Shane pulled into the parking lot and parked the truck.

"We got two options, y'all… We can stop here and get some shut eye, try and find some more supplies and maybe a gennie, or we can keep goin. I'm tired as all hell so I vote shut eye." Shane spoke as he shut his eyes and rubbed them.

"Well, if it helps, Walsh, my ass fell asleep about 3 hours in so shut eye and movin 'round is good with me. I ain't gon argue because you got us all outta there alive." Merle answered as he thought about finding the farmhouse that Shane said his brother and that asshole cop Rick had been at before he'd gotten split from the g roup in a burning heap.

Was Daryl even alive now? Did he dare hope the kid made it somewhere safer?

He didn't feel like his little brother was dead and Merle liked to think that they were close enough that if he lost Daryl he'd know somehow, so he was operating on that blind hope for now. He felt Trina tapping him and he turned to look at her.

Shane leaned across the seat and kissed Hannah awake. "What about you, hon? You drove a good bit. Wanna stop here for a few days, see if we cain't find supplies and maybe a gennie?"

"Gladly." Hannah yawned as she leaned into him and mumbled, "Tired as hell. I want a shower but I know the water's off everywhere."

"We'll find a map and see if we cain't find a lake or something nearby. It ain't a shower but it'll get us all clean again." Shane mumbled as his lips brushed Hannah's forehead. He chuckled when she held a thumb up and started to snore lightly again.

"Reckon we need ta bring in the guns n knives, Walsh, just in case?" Merle wondered aloud as Shane looked back at him in the rearview and nodded. "Yeah, because there's no way of tellin what's in that hotel. Could be slam full a walkers."

"Could be… Or more assholes like them ones from the cabin."

"I got a bad feelin about that whole situation, Dixon. I got the feelin we ain't seen the last of 'em. Need to really be on our toes, old man." Shane admitted as Merle nodded and then rubbed his chin in thought.

"Them sumbitches had army surplus stuff. A militia group or somethin, ya reckon?"

"Or somethin, is more my guess… That guy, I saw him when I was drivin past.. He didn't look like no militia leader… Or not like the ones I ever seen." Shane admitted as he and Merle shared a look. Shane wondered if Rick and the group made it out of the farmhouse before it burnt, to his shock, Lori wasn't the front runner in his thoughts and concerns… It was Rick and Carl and the baby Lori had been carrying.

He stopped the train of thought. He had to focus on the here and now. And the here and now was with Hannah and her friend and the guy he previously thought a douchebag with one hell of a bad attitude but was starting to grow neutral towards, Merle.

"Hannah, hon… You gon wake up for me or am I gonna have to carry you in." Shane asked Hannah in a whisper as she snuggled in as much more as the console between them in the front seat would allow and she muttered quietly, "I won't complain if you carry me. I'm sorry, baby, I'm just… I'm wiped."

"Ya drove 8 hours, hon. Drivin will tire ya out faster 'n anything."

"Yeah, well I still should have driven more, because you drove a whole damn night almost." Hannah mumbled, Shane shook his head and then kissing her forehead, he got out and went around to her side of the truck, sliding her out and into his arms. Merle handed him the new Mossberg that he'd stolen at a pawn shop just a few minutes away from the cabin they'd been forced out of and Shane shouldered the Mossberg and adjusted Hannah so that she wasn't slipping down his body, laughing when her arms just sort of wrapped around his neck and her lips brushed against them. The slow burn of low voltage electricity raced through his veins and his body and he smiled a little to himself.

"So… We find rooms close to one another… I think finding one in front of the truck is best, that way if more assholes like those last ones show up we can see 'em comin a mile away." Shane spoke as Merle nodded and kicked a door open. Trina smirked and stepped into the room and then said "Looks like we're roomies, salty old man."

"Don't mind iff'n I do, sugar tits." Merle gave Shane a wink as he closed the door behind him and disappeared into the room. Shane kicked open the door of the room next to the one Merle and Trina had chosen and he put down his gun and then he laid Hannah on the bed, flopped down carefully beside her and let out a long and drawn out breath of pure exhaustion. Hannah rolled over and raised to prop on her elbow as she said with a yawn, "Before either of us crashes for the longest nap ever, baby… I need to check your stab wound."

"Not yet, hon… There's still the small matter of things ya said back there at the cabin. And I did promise ya we'd revisit that kiss."

"It's okay, Shane, really."

"Yer not regretting it?" Shane asked as his stomach churned nervously and he started to get a little anxious. Hannah gaped at him a moment and then she slid onto him, her legs were pinning his hips against the bed but he was totally okay with it.

"You listen to me, Shane Walsh… I will _never_ regret saying those things to you. I'm just afraid to say too much because what if…. I mean any second something like what happened at the cabin could happen and if I lost you, damn it."

He sat up and slid his arms around her, his lips against her lips. "You're not gonna. I ain't goin anywhere unless ya _make me_."

"You don't _know_ that, Shane… I mean I almost lost you twice after I managed to get you back to the cabin that night you were… And it freaked me out, okay? It still freaks me out."

"Yeah, well… Losing you is getting so that it's startin to freak me out, Hannah. But we're gon be okay." Shane slid his hands through the curtain of blonde hanging in her eye currently, staring into her eyes. "I got you, okay?"

"And I got you."

This time when their lips met, there was fire and passion and urgency in the kiss. Shane's hands rested on the curves of Hannah's hips and held her totally against his body and Hannah lightly moaned and willingly parted her lips, her tongue colliding with Shane's quickly, massaging it with her own. His hand left the curve of her hip and tangled in her hair, pulling it down from the messy braid she had it in.

"Hon, why in the hell do ya keep your hair up all the time?" he muttered huskily against her lips as his fingers dragged slowly through her hair, freeing it, letting it tumble well past the bend in her elbow. He'd never realized just how long her hair was because she usually kept it braided and apparently, she kept a good portion of the braid pinned up.

"Because it gets kind of hot on my neck." Hannah sucked in a breath as she tugged gently at his lower lip with both of her lips. He groaned and his tongue trailed over her lips, tracing the fullness of them. "Why'd you shave all your hair off?" Hannah asked as the kiss continued to deepen, she could feel her lips tingling, they were swollen from the intensity of the kiss.

"Because I'm a dumbass." Shane muttered, more focused on just how much deeper he could pull her lips into his, he suddenly could not get enough of her lips against his, it just felt right, like puzzle pieces fitting together.

The headboard began banging against the wall in the hotel room that Merle and Trina were staying in and Hannah pretended to gag as Shane tried not to laugh and kill the mood. But then Merle shouted "Damn it, woman, will ya get yer ass down offa the bed jumpin on it and go to sleep? And don't drink all o' my tequila, damn it. 'S like havin a child in here. Ya got a nice ass, sugar tits, but yer startin ta be a pain in my ass." and Hannah and Shane both began to laugh, the kiss didn't break as they laughed. Shane rolled them in the bed carefully so that Hannah was beneath him and he was leaned over her, staring down into her eyes.

"Yeah, I was kind of wondering for a minute there." Hannah muttered as their kiss broke and they sat up partially, looking at each other and the wall separating their room from the one Merle and Trina had taken.

"The hell is she doin, jumpin on the bed?" Shane coughed to sort of calm down the urges he was fighting at the moment and rubbing his hand over his scalp he eyed the wall with a slightly grossed out look and a very raised brow.

"Trina is Trina. Sadly, this is the only answer I have that seems to form a blanket and fit every single weird thing she's ever done in the small amount of time I've known her." Hannah explained as she shrugged a little.

"I'm gon be smart and not ask anythin else." Shane admitted as he shook his head and laughed a little. He hadn't laughed in so long lately that it sounded kind of st range to hear himself laugh again.

"I did that a long time ago, Shane." Hannah admitted with a laugh as she pulled him down on top of her. She just longed to feel his body against hers, feel his heart beating strong and even and steady against her chest.

She longed for more than that but everything was still new and they were coming down off of a big whirlwind of events and she was trying to reserve herself. It was hard to do with him because she just wanted him and connected with him on so many different levels, but… It was worth _not rushing._

Shane felt a baseball sized knot forming in the base of his throat. It was taking some getting used to, having someone _want him_ like Hannah did. He pulled her against him and started to kiss her again.

And things were going great right up until they heard the sounds of shuffling clumsy moving outside. Shane ground his jaw together and clenched it tightly, frustrated and his head snapped up as he glared at the open windows of their hotel room.

Sure enough, a small group of Walkers was shuffling towards the hotel. Hannah swore a little, she'd been just about to try and work up the nerve to finish the conversation that their nearly two hour long make out put to a grinding halt earlier, she was finally just going to tell him everything she had on her mind and everything she felt because she felt like if she didn't get it out she'd explode and she knew that time was borrowed these days… She was more than a little frustrated at first her own fears about actually saying EVERYTHING she wanted to say and secondly, the timing issue they seemed to be having as of late.

He slid off the bed and tugged on the t shirt he'd shed earlier and grabbed the rifle. Hannah felt her stomach knotting up. Shane tiptoed over to the hotel room windows and raised them slightly after shutting the curtains. He loaded his Mossberg and after 3 shots rang out, he slid back into the bed, cradling her against him.

" All gone now."

"Every single time. We have got to work on our timing."

"We'll get it sooner 'r later." Shane chuckled as he kissed her on the neck and then the lips and hugged her tightly against him, yawning. "Tomorrow we'll head out, see if we can find anythin worth pickin up before we hit the road again. And find a lake or somethin so we can clean off somehow."

Hannah yawned and nodded sleepily, starting to drift off, the steady beat of his heart lulling her to sleep.


	7. Timing II

**NOTES:**

Okay, so another new character. This one is thanks to my best friend she is Collared-Kitten on here, this OC is named Eevee and I love herrr.. I hope to God you like this girl. Sorry it took a damn age and a half to get it written up and posted. This is the second half to chapter six too, they're trying to figure out who was in the helicopter they saw. (HINT: Think about the episodes, people. A lot of the stuff that's going to happen to Rick and his group later, happens to this group first. I'm blending the stories in here. :p)

Warnings: **a fuck ton of swearing. Not so much in this chapter, but yes, still a fuck ton of swearing. OOC possibilities. I hope to hell everyone is IC for this, but obviously, Shane and Merle are a little OOC in that they're sort of learning from the fuck ups that got them where they are? In good ways, of course, my goal was to redeem the two of them because I LOVE SHANE and Merle was kinda like my one crazy uncle and I hated that they killed him, especially when the good parts were peeking through, oh my god.**

Other notes **: I have a favorite and two follows! I'm so thrilled rig ht now, I honestly did not think anyone was going to read this and I was worried that it was crappy, I'm real critical of myself. Hope you guys are enjoying it so far.**

* * *

Walls are built to keep us safe

Until they're crashin' down,

Worlds apart, we were the same,

Until you hit the ground.

Angel, Theory Of A Deadman

SIX PART TWO:

"Whoa, wait… So we're just supposed to sit here and what? Wait?" Hannah asked Shane as he loaded his Mossberg. Shane stopped and turned to look at her and then nodded as he added, "I don't want ya out there, just in case somebody did come off that helicopter."

"Bullshit. I'm going. If you get the right to protect me, damn it, I get to do the same for you. We've got each other's backs in this. It's not just all you, Shane." Hannah replied as she and Trina worked on loading their own weapons just to be safe. Merle and Shane shared a look and Shane said firmly, "It ain't a good idea."

"Good idea or not, Shane, I'm going with you. I almost lost you two times before I got you back to my cabin the night I found you. I'm not going to just sit here and risk doing it again. Besides, if something happens… If we're split up or something… I'm gonna have to take care of myself anyway. I was doing it before I found you, remember?"

"Well you got me now. You don't have to."

"We can stand here and waste time arguin or you can just let me go. Either way, Shane, I'm coming out there too."

Shane grumbled, biting his tongue for the moment. She had a point. And he knew her well enough to know that she'd just sneak out and do it anyway. She was that headstrong. It felt good to butt heads with someone because they wanted to keep you safe. It felt good not to be the only person giving in the relationship for once.

"Fine. But ya'll are gonna stick close to us."

"I can deal with that." Hannah said as she added, "I just can't deal with you insisting on putting me behind this glass case or whatever it is you're trying to do. I was protecting myself before. You don't have to do everything, baby. Not with me."

He nodded as he brushed his lips to her forehead.

The group walked out the door and started moving quietly, staying low, sticking close together. Merle hissed and nodded to a door and said something and Shane went up wit hhim to check it out.

Trina noticed the curtains to one of the rooms slipping closed as if someone had been looking out them. "Over there."

"What about it?"

"There's something or someone in that room.. 214 I think it was."

Shane and Merle were inside the hotel room Merle wanted Shane to go into so Hannah nodded and she and Trina made their way carefully across the parking lot. They'd gotten about halfway when someone hissed.

"Hey you! The two dumb ass women out there."

"Did you hear that, Trin?"

"Who the hell said that?" Trina started, Hannah clenched her hand tightly over her friend's mouth and nodded ahead of them, walkers were shuffling past on the road. A bigger horde of them.

They were too damn far away from the room to run back now.

Shane and Merle were still inside of the hotel room that Merle had found something in.

"Over here, idiots!"

Hannah's eyes darted around ahead of her and she saw the girl standing in the cracked hotel room doorway.

"If I were you two, I'd run over here now." Eevee stated calmly as she eyed the two girls standing in the middle of the parking lot armed to the teeth but panicked like two literal deer in headlights. She shook her head and stepped aside.

Trina and Hannah bolted to the door and into the room and Eevee slammed the door shut. "Mi casa is su casa."

"Thanks…"

"So… How'd you two get here?"

"Some assholes took over the cabin we were usin as a safe zone." Trina stated as she eyed the girl in front of her warily, she wasn't sure what to make of her. Eevee eyed Trina back just as warily and then asked, "Let me guess… They had army gear."

"How'd you?" Hannah stopped in mid sentence as she eyed Eevee.

"Because the last place I was holed up in, they came in and did that. Only reason I made it out was because I was gone out for supplies and stuff with a few others." Eevee answered as she sighed and then shook her head.

She was the only one left of her old group. She was the literal last woman standing. She'd been in this hotel for at least a month now, only running the generator when she absolutely had to, scavenging for food and game in the woods.

Thank god they gave an optional survival training in the force.

Thank god even more that she'd _opted to take_ the survival training.

"So you're not the only one?" Trina asked, eying Eevee.

"I wasn't… Until about a week ago. I don't really want to talk about it. Especially considering I don't know either of you. You're lucky I let you in here just now." Eevee answered quietly, looking from female to female as she asked, "What about you two?"

"We got two others. There's her man, Shane and some salty ass old man I found while I was on a supply run, he's Merle." Trina answered as she asked, "What's your name?"

"Eevee."

"I'm Trina."

"I'm Hannah."

Trina stood and walked towards the window to see if the horde had gone yet and it had. "C'mon. You're coming back with us. It's one hell of a lot safer than you ridin this shit out alone, Eevee." Trina offered as she waited.

Hannah heard Shane calling her name and she went to the door, waving him and Merle over. "Tell Merle not to be a dick." Hannah asked Shane who asked with a concerned look, "Where the hell did you go, darlin?"

"Me and Trina were out here and about to go into the hotel room you and Merle went into, but we saw a horde. Eevee got us in here." Hannah nodded to Eevee and Shane gave a wary smile and a nod. "You scared the livin shit out of me, baby girl. I told ya to stay with me." Shane gave her a firm lecture as he asked, "Are there any more of 'em?"

"Just me." Eevee answered as she eyed Shane and then asked, "Did you see the helicopter?"

"Blinded the livin hell outta me and baby girl here. How long you been here on your own?"

"Long enough."

"What happened to your group?" Shane asked.

Eevee paused a moment and then said "An asshole with army grade weapons happened to our group. I survived because I was gone on a supply run."

Shane and Merle exchanged looks and then Shane asked, "This asshole with army grade weapons… He have crazy eyes?"

"That would be him, yes. If I ever see him again he's fucking dead where he stands… For Stephan." Eevee couldn't even say her dead boyfriend's name without choking up. Every night when she closed her eyes, she saw it happening all over again. If only she hadn't went on the supply run. If only Stephan hadn't argued with her earlier in the day and driven her to go on the supply run to clear her head. Now she had to live with all of it.

She was trying though, damn it. She'd had to come a long way in a surprisingly short amount of time. If she were the same as she'd been right after it happened and in the days that followed? The two women and two men standing in her safe haven right now would not be there. She'd be afraid to trust them. She wasn't sure what to make of them now, but she'd taken a huge risk and let them all in here.

"You weren't with that chopper then?" Merle asked an obvious and probably stupid question, but it was something that the four of them also needed reassurance of. They'd been through so much hell in recent weeks.

"Nope. You four weren't, right?" Eevee asked, eying them all warily.

"Nope. We were in that room a few doors down. We thought they were SWAT."

"If it were SWAT we'd have known it. They're efficient." Eevee gave a nod as she spoke and then asked, "You've been out there… Anybody lurking around?"

"We found signs others mighta been here. A room three down in the other direction. There was guns and shit and clothes and a few coolers. Somebody filled the tub full a water." Merle spoke as Shane nodded and then said "Whoever they are, they ain't far if all their stuff is there."

"We should all be on our toes then."

"Your all alone?" Hannah asked Eevee as she gave Shane a look. Trina nodded in agreement, she knew what Hannah was contemplating already. It wasn't safe for anyone to be traveling alone. Especially not given the things that they'd all went through as a group.

"Yeah. I mean it's not a big deal though."

"It ain't safe." Shane stat ed, eying the woman in concern.

"Yeah, well, I haven't seen anybody else in almost a month or so now. So I've sort of just been getting by. I've been watching my ass, I think I've got it covered."

"It's still not safe." Merle insisted.

"They're right. Look, we have room. Just come with us, okay? It's a lot better than trying to make a go of this alone." Hannah stated as Trina nodded in agreement as she added with a wary smile, "Besides, with three of us, maybe Officer tight ass here and this salty old bastard to my right will actually let the women get shit done. Trying to make us stay in the room."

Eevee eyed them for at least ten minutes or so, she stood there debating her options. "Where are you guys heading?"

"We're setting out at first light.. Just in case that chopper we all saw was a SWAT decontamination team. Gonna make a supply run in town first and then we're on the road. We're not really sure where we're heading yet. Trying to find somewhere safe to get for a while."

"I heard there was a safe zone in Virginia..." Eevee remembered her and Stephan discussing it, thinking about going there, people were going or t rying to get there because they'd been hearing that it was relatively untouched and the place was armed to the teeth with a wall around it.

"Yeah, I seen a flyer for it. Not real sure about it." Merle stated as he looked at the others in the group.

"We can drive and figure it out on our way. I just think that tomorrow when the sun's up we get the hell out of here while the getting is good. Just to be safe." Shane stated as Merle nodded and then asked, "So we're all bunkin together in the one room tonight. I mean you saw all that shit in that other room. Whoever was in there had the same shit that that group who came and ran us offa the cabin we had had."

"Exactly my thoughts." Shane nodded. Internally though, he was cursing timing yet again. Just one damn night alone with Hannah. One damn night to just enjoy finding her, being with her. But it didn't look like that was going to happen, at least not on this night…

"Let's get some shut eye. You're comin too, right, Eevee?"

Eevee eyed them but after a few minutes she grabbed her pack and her weapons and followed the group of four out the door and down a few to the room they'd been in.

Maybe trusting them wasn't going to be a huge error in judgement on her part.

But being alone with her mind and everything she'd been through was hard. She was starting to dwell on everything. She couldn't sleep a night without seeing it all over again in her head, the circumstances that had gotten her this far to the end of the world.

Hannah gave Shane's hand a gentle s queeze and she raised to tiptoe and kissed him while whispering in his ear, "Thank you, baby… It's just not safe to let her be alone. Besides, we gotta trust some people, right?"

"Yeah." Shane answered as he slid his arm around her. "That disappearing thing wasn't cute, baby girl. You really scared the hell out of me, especially when I looked out n saw the horde of Walkers." Shane scolded Hannah gently.

"Okay, alright. Look, we're all safe, okay?"

"Yeah, well we're all lucky. Sooner or later though, luck runs out."

"Let's hope it doesn't."

"I second the living hell out of that." Trina commented as she flopped across the bed in the room they were all packed into now and yawned loudly.

"We let the girls have the bed."

"Fair enough. Ain't like I needed it. Gonna stay awake and watch out."

Shane eyed Merle and Merle shrugged as he said "Look. I made it this far. Ain't keen on havin my throat slashed during the night by whoever might have had that other room if they come back and find all of us."

"Then I'm stayin awake too." Shane seconded. It wasn't a bad idea, really, because whoever had the room down from their room on the opposite side of Eevee… They'd had weapons similar to the ones that group that ran everyone out of Hannah's cabin had.

"We'll all take turns driving tomorrow then."

"Fine with me."

"I have no problem with it."

With plans finalized, the group settled into their routine for the night, prepared to set out the next day, totally unaware of what lie ahead.


End file.
